Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Hillcrest

For one person, living is cheaper in Hillcrest: $1,081 a month against $1,647 in Budapest, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
Learn more

Hillcrest Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,647

/mo nomad

Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Budapest and in Hillcrest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Budapest and in Hillcrest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,647 per month in Budapest vs $1,081 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Budapest $1,647
Hillcrest $1,081

A couple spends around $2,567 per month in Budapest vs $1,686 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Budapest $2,567
Hillcrest $1,686

A family of three spends $3,488 per month in Budapest vs $2,292 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Budapest $3,488
Hillcrest $2,292

Budapest costs about 52% more than Hillcrest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Budapest sits 22% above the global median, while Hillcrest is 20% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.63 Ft 4,407

$7.87 R 129

73.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.7 Ft 19.6K

$38.34 R 628

58.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 Ft 3,239

$6.01 R 98.5

66.72%

Cappuccino

$3.33 Ft 1,075

$2.71 R 44.47

22.88%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 Ft 684

$1.14 R 18.68

85.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 Ft 581

$0.90 R 14.69

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 Ft 1,166

$2.45 R 40.17

47.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Ft 1,160

$2.50 R 40.99

43.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Ft 361

$1.18 R 19.25

-5.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 Ft 623

$0.98 R 16.11

96.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 804

$1.50 R 24.55

66.00%

Eggs

$3.94 Ft 1,275

$2.32 R 38.05

69.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.28 Ft 3,646

$8.19 R 134

37.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 Ft 2,177

$5.05 R 82.7

33.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 Ft 4,670

$7.27 R 119

98.62%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 Ft 601

$1.29 R 21.19

44.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 658

$1.93 R 31.55

5.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.29 Ft 740

$1.95 R 31.89

17.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,290

$1.73 R 28.39

130.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 Ft 304

$1.46 R 23.95

-35.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 330

$1.44 R 23.64

-29.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 Ft 534

$1.21 R 19.74

36.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 Ft 221

$1.14 R 18.69

-40.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 Ft 2,526

$3.71 R 60.7

110.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.02 Ft 1,946

$4.80 R 78.6

25.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 Ft 418

$1.41 R 23.06

-8.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 Ft 655

$1.96 R 32.15

3.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 484

$1.54 R 25.15

-2.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.13 Ft 8,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 Ft 1,085

$0.44 R 7.13

663.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 444

$0.71 R 11.59

92.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.96 Ft 6,451

$7.70 R 126

159.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 Ft 603

$1.45 R 23.81

28.28%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.5K Ft 9.2M

$35.2K R 576.9K

-19.01%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.4K Ft 10.8M

$33.1K R 541.5K

0.99%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$178 Ft 57.6K

$153 R 2,507

16.43%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.58 Ft 7,623

$35.61 R 583

-33.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.12 Ft 7,797

$39.04 R 640

-38.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 Ft 22.5K

$33.00 R 541

111.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.03 Ft 5,505

$13.55 R 222

25.68%

Cinema Ticket

$10.48 Ft 3,388

$7.29 R 119

43.76%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$625 Ft 202.1K

$310 R 5,085

101.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K Ft 6.4M

$7,429 R 121.7K

164.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 Ft 33.0K

$51.6 R 845

97.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.41 Ft 14.0K

$27.96 R 458

55.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 Ft 35.5K

$97.0 R 1,588

13.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 Ft 39.0K

$79.2 R 1,297

52.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$845 Ft 273.3K

$377 R 6,170

124.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 Ft 206.4K

$353 R 5,777

81.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 Ft 520.1K

$640 R 10.5K

151.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 Ft 393.5K

$732 R 12.0K

66.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,555 Ft 1.8M

$764 R 12.5K

627.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,898 Ft 1.3M

$575 R 9,417

578.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,724 Ft 557.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.34

11.78

-46.18%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Budapest: November 1, 2026

Last update for Hillcrest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$638 38.8%

Hillcrest

$353 32.6% 44.8% $286

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$260 15.8%

Hillcrest

$189 17.5% 27.2% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$226 13.7%

Hillcrest

$228 21.1% 0.8% $1.8

Eating Out

Budapest

$220 13.4%

Hillcrest

$139 12.9% 36.8% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.3%

Hillcrest

$115 10.6% 32% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$91 5.5%

Hillcrest

$48 4.4% 47.5% $43

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.6%

Hillcrest

$10 * 0.9% 76.7% $33

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $845 in Budapest versus $377 in Hillcrest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest versus $38 in Hillcrest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $189 – making Hillcrest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🕒 Local time

01:50 1:50 AM

02:50 2:50 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.76 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Hillcrest 8,670 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
Hillcrest

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Budapest vs Hillcrest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 52%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,471 per month in Budapest and $1,622 in Hillcrest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hillcrest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $377 there versus $845 in Budapest.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Budapest and $38 in Hillcrest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 37% more in Budapest, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,647 in Budapest and $1,081 in Hillcrest, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Hillcrest – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.